[129] The parallel diary of events as it appears in Herodotus is as follows:—
| Day. | Thermopylæ. | Artemisium. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Persian army leaves Therma. | |
| 12 | Persian fleet leaves Therma and reaches Magnesian coast. | |
| 13 | Storm begins in morning. | |
| 14 | Army reaches Malis. | Storm continues. |
| 15 | Storm continues. | |
| 16 | Storm ceases. Fleet moves to Aphetæ. Despatch of 200 vessels round Eubœa. First sea fight. | |
| 17 | Second sea fight after the arrival of 53 Athenian ships. | |
| 18 | First attack on Thermopylæ. | Third sea fight. News of disaster at Thermopylæ in the evening. |
| 19 | Second attack on Thermopylæ. | |
| 20 | Disaster at Thermopylæ. |
[130] Herodotus does not give any indication as to the time at which the Greeks received news of the disaster. It is necessary therefore to make certain calculations as to the earliest possible moment at which the news can have reached them. As far as can be seen from the narrative, the ten Persian scouting vessels started from Therma on the same day as the main body of the fleet, but probably at an earlier hour. It must have been well on in the morning before they came upon the Greek vessels off the mouth of the Peneius, which is fifty miles from Therma. The only conceivable means by which news of the engagement could have reached Skiathos, some seventy miles south of this point, is by the appearance of those ten vessels with the captured Greek ships in their company. That being the case, the Greek fleet at Artemisium cannot have received the news before the evening of the day.
[131] The ancient Mekistos.
[132] It is more probable that it was under the shelter of the great cliffs of Mount Kandili, in the neighbourhood of the modern Limni. There is a sandy shore for many miles at the foot of those cliffs, upon which vessels might be conveniently drawn up.
[133] A nine-knot steamer takes about seven hours from Chalkis to Stylida, which is about the same distance as from Chalkis to Artemisium. There is no question that a trireme could maintain a high rate of speed for hours together. Nor is there reason to doubt Herodotus’ statement that the voyage of the Persian fleet from Therma to the Sepiad strand took but one day, a distance, that is to say, of one hundred and twenty miles in fourteen hours of daylight, over eight miles an hour—even supposing that such a large number of vessels could put out and put in in the dark. The probability is, however, that the fleet never went to Chalkis at all; or, if it did, that it moved up the Euripus after receiving the news of the disaster to the Persian fleet, so as to be ready to go to Artemisium without delay so soon as the storm ceased.
[134] The strong bias which Herodotus displays in his references to Themistocles is of itself sufficient to render the tale of bribery open to suspicion. Furthermore, the sum mentioned, thirty talents, is an extraordinarily large sum for the people of North Eubœa to raise at short notice.
[135] Diod. xi. 12, mentions this, but gives the number of the squadron as three hundred.
[136] Diodorus gives no exact indication of the time of despatch, though he mentions it immediately after describing the arrival at Aphetæ.
[137] Same day as first engagement (vide note over page).